English literary characters: Just William Costumes of English Literary Characters: William Brown (aka Just William) Figure 1.--William Brown is one of the most beloved of all characters in popular English culture. He represents to many Brits what a British boy should be like--as long as you don't have to live next door. The boys here wear suits with rather long short pants as was common in the 1920s and 30s. William's shorts are probably longer than were worn by most boys. Notice that the boys here wear the same ties. This photograph was from the ITV series in the 1970s. Richard Crompton's William Brown is the one of the two most famous schoolboy in English literature. (The other of course is Jennings , a literary character familiar to the next generation of English school boys.) William is often referred to as "Just William" after the title of the first book introducing him to the British public who quickly fell in love with him. The 11-year old school boy soon came to represent the archetype British schoolboy, inquiring, adventurous, and constantly wanting to launch another, usually illconceived, outdoor adventure. William William is the youngest son in the Brown family.

He is perpetually 11-years old, a bright-eyed boy with unrully brown hair. The term scruffy would also have to be applied to William. There is, however, very little description of William in his books. He just seems to appear as if we had always known him. Our image of William, much like Cedric Erol in an earlier era, is largely the creation of the illustrator. In William's case the illustrator was Thomas Henry Fisher. While Crompton touches only obliquely on Williams clothes--not so with his hair. Never before or since has one boy's hair been described in such detail. Much more so than the infamous curls of Cedric Erol. Williams locks are often described as "a neglected lawn" which even after repeated brushings reverts to "its favorite verticle position." The illustrator himself also did justice to that now fabled tousled mop. The Story Line Wiliam is full of life, if only the adult world of parents, teachers, vicars, and other assiociated figures of authority "would leave him to it," as the Englih would say.

Ripe for adventure, unable to refuse a challenge, William Brown is foever winding up in the most apauling scrapes. If there is a tree to be climbed, he'll be up there,teetering precariously on the highest branches. If there is a puddle jump into, William can be relied on to find the muddiest--and go in head first. And of course the invairably disastrous results of his adventures always come as a terrific great surprise to poor Willaim. Violet Elizabeth Bott The bane of William's life is Violet Elizabeth Bott. (Perhaps the inspiration to Margaret in Dennis the Menace.) Violet lives in a big house which her father bought with the profits from Bott's Digestive Sauce. Violet has an angelic appearance. All the adults see her as a truly angelic, model child. She is always portrayed in emaculate dresses and long ringlet curls. William of course knows she is anything but an angel. William and his mates, the Outlaws, have no time for girls. The problem is that Violet has a rather misguided, but soppy crush on our intrepid William. And unfortunately William is often forced to play with her.

(Is there any surprise that William just cannot fathom the intricacies of adult logic.) Violet for her part threatens to "scweam" and "scweam" if Willaim attempts to leave her behind on one of his adventures or if she doesn't get her way. The Brown Family William is the despair of his parents, a perpetual irritant to his teenage brother and sister, and an appalling nuisance to the virtually all the village grown ups. Mr. and Mrs Brown are William's battle-heardened, but affectionate parents. They live in constant terror of a knock on the door from yet another furious neighbor complaining of broken windows, trampled flowers, or other costly damage left in wake of our intrepid hero. His father is forever using William's allouance (pocket money) to defray the damage, but the long-suffering Mrs. Brown is convimced that her offspring is misunderstood. She endevors to explain William's behavior to the rest of the family. Ethel Brown, William's sister, isn't buying any of it. She is after a husband and William succeeds in getting rid of more than one prospective mate.

Robert, William's older brother, is also pertubed with William's interferences in his romances, but not as much as Ethel who dispairs of ever marrying. The Outlaws There is of course the Outlaws. William's best friend Ginger loves long words, but has trouble pronouncing and using them. Douglas and Henry are also members of the Outlaw Gang. They are firecly loyal to William when he is confronted with adult authority, but are known to have their own differences with William. Georgie Murdoch Georgie Murdoch is the perfect boy that the adults loved and William and the Outlaws absolutely hated. Hecwore emaculate white sailor suits athat never got dirty and his hair was never messed up. We do not have a page yet for Georgie, but he can be seen on the English literary page . The Author Richmal Crompton Lamburn was born in 1890 at Bury in Lancashire. She died in 1969. She is more commonly known as just Richmal Crompton. Crompton taught school and was a keen observer of the foibles of small children.

She was able to cleverly and sympathetically intepret the antics of mischevious boys and the motives behind their seemingly irrational behavior. She published over 80 titles, but they were not all in the Just William series. She wrote many romantic novels which she considered more importanat than the Just William books--which she considered to be a bit of a daliance at the time. Her romantic novels of course are now long fotgotten and it is William that has imortalized her memory. William surely would have regarded these novels as "dreadfully mushy". While her romantic novels are now generally forgotte, it is Crompton's comedic genius that we now remember. It is interesting that a lady has crafted these ever so telling glimpses of boyhood. I supose that men sometimes forget how they felt as boys. She must have been an observent school mistress. We thought it was here that she learned so much about small boys. A HBC reader explains that she was a teacher but at a girls school. Perhaps this is where the Viloet lizabeth Bott character came from. The antics of William were inspired by her younger brother Jack. He appars to have given her many ideas when she was old enough to remember.

Boyhood Views One British contributor remembers reading the William books as a boy. He reports that "Although done as humour, in hindsight they were actually quite 'subversive' and implicitly questioning of authority." Another reader reports, "I was about 10-13 years old when I read some of the the William books. I think. I suppose I didn't at that time have a very coherent take on whether or not particular cultural artefacts were subversive. I think I enjoyed his exploits and was amused by them, without really identifying fully with them, since he was in middle-middle-class home-counties suburbia and I was in a lower-middle-class family in a small northern provincial town. And of course one could never in reality have got away with being anything like as rebellious as that. Also, I think one would have been at least dimly aware, even at that age, that the world after the World War II (1939-45) was in many respects a very different place from the world before the war.

(I was born 4 years after the end of the war, and my parents, and other people of their generation, never stopped in the 1950s talking about the immense social effects of the war and how everything in their lives had changed utterly as a result of the war. So I think there was a strong sense that anything dating from, or set in, the 1930s was inherently from a completely lost and bygone age, at a quite deep social and cultural level. Therefore, one was always at least vaguely conscious that a lot of the stuff one was reading was very 'dated'." Another British contributor indicated that the books seemed rather "old fashioned to me as a kid". Figure 2.--The English school cap was almost universally worn in the 1920s and 30s. Like William's cap in this 1990s BBC production of Just William, they came in many different designs and colors. Note how he wears his cap. The Books William was first introduced to the unsuspecting British public when "Rice-Mold," was published in Home Magazine during 1919, just after World War I.

Her first book was Justt William (as Richmal Crompton). London, Newnws, 1922. The author wrote about 40 books, from 1922 to 19??, beginning with Just William. The books had a special appel to children, but Crompton did not intend them as exclusively childtrn's books. Illustrators One of the many charming aspects of the William books is that they are wonderfully illustrated. The original William books were profusely and beautifully illustrated by Thomas Henry Fisher , although they are usually signed Thomas Henry. Fisher was born at Nottingham in 1879. He had a perfect grasp of the hero's character and foibles. The illustrations also contain a great deal of period information about boys' clothing. Fisher was selected by the publisher Newnes to illustrate the William books. He succedded in creating the perfect visual immage drawn by Crompton in her books. Interestingly, the Fisher and the author did not meet until 1958 and it is not clear if they even corresonded before that. If so, the correspondence is now lost.

Some of the later William books were illustrated by Henry Ford, who endevored to portray William in much the same way as Fisher. Several of the reprinted books had new covers by Gerry Haylock. Haylock portrays William as a somewhat more orderly boy and updates the clothing--William and his mates even wear jeans. The idea of course is to update him and make him more "relevant" to the modern generation. Here we wonder. Would a modern British boy be more likely to buy a William boy if William was dressed in the traditional style or the clothig styles of the modern generation. We do not know the answer to this, but do wonder. Illustration Updating Since the initial publications, 'William' has been republished many times iver several decades of the long press run. Most of the publications have retained the original illustrations of Thomas Henry. However in the more recent publications, different illustrators have redone covers to keep it contemporary with the current generation of children whilst other illustrators have endevoured to keep to the original brief in their own style. Often only the cover illustration has been changed providing an interesting contrast with modern and traditional styles. I believe some editions have changed the illustration in the test as well, but am not sure about this.

The idea of course is to update him and make him more "relevant" to the modern generation. Clothing The illustartions in the books provide a detailed source of images on English schoolboy dress during the 1920s-50s. As many episodes take place out of school and include other children, the books provide an overall picture of English boyhood clothes. The many TV and movie productions provide other glimpses, but unlike the original drawings are not contemorary work. Many do, however, take great pains to preserve the images so beautifully presented in the William books. While much changed over the years, William's costuming did not. At least not after it was set by the 1930s. (William would not like it to be known, but in his first appearances Thomas Henry portrayed him as a rather orderly character. He was more commonly togged out in a neat Eton suit. His socks were rarely crumpled or falling down no matter how strnous an activity he had been up to. Even more telling, his cap sat sqarely upon his head.) Eventually the William that we know and loved appeared. Through the years William and his chums wear their characteristic school cap with circles.

William's of course is always worn scrufilly with the peak worn cockily over one ear. In the 1920s and 30s, you did not see British schoolboys outside without their caps. He always wears a crumpled suit, baggy flannel short trousers, and floppy turn-over top keesocks--always collapsing at the ankles. Radio William appeared on BBC radio during the 1940s. HBC at this time has little information on these classic radio shows. Child actor John Clark palyed William, util his voice broke. I'm not sure how John came over on the radio, but publicity shots of him shosw a much smarter dresser than William himself. We suspect that William might have thought of John as a bit of a swell. William appears to becoming back into vogue through TV versions but even more so in the late 1990s because of readings on BBC Radio 4 by Martin Jarvis. Richmal Crompton is increasingly being recognised as a great comic writer. Figure 3.--A Movie version of the William stories appered in 1939, it was appropriated titled "Our William". William is pictured here by himself.

To see the Outlaws, click on the image. Movies The first actual view that the British had of William and the Outlaws was at the movies. HBC does not have a great deal of information about Just William movies. One movie was appropriately enough titled Just William and was made in 1939. I believe this was the first one. Another film was William Himself, I'm not sure when it was made. Another film William at the Circus was made about 1948. Interestingly the William movies were never very popular in America. Thus few Americans had ever heard of William. Television "Just William" was produced for television in 1976. William was nicely played by Adrian Dannatt. The TV series was produced by John Davies and Stella Richman. They decided to set the TV series in the late 1920s when they felt Crompton had written his best William stories. Keith Dewhurst who scripted the series attempted to faithfully follow the Crompton atmosphere. A real effort was made to accuractely reproduce the dialog, location, and clothing. The BBC produced a version of Just William in 1994/95 BBC television.

Oliver Rokison, the boy actor in the title role, was excellent. The stories were very amusing. In this version of William, he was quite different from the books. William in the books was a real "monster" with a negative attitude to everything, and this was toned down in the TV series, where he was much more of a "lovable scamp". In fact I think the TV series (as was Crompton's intention for the original book) aimed at least as much at adults as at kids--it was done as quite a "camp" and "post-modern" take on popular stereotypes and clich�s about 1930s English middle-class culture. Changes Over Time The William books did change over time as did England. Crompton's books were published over several decades, from the 1920s through the Depression, World War II, and into the post-war era. William's house started as a mansion with stables and summer houses, but that was not in keeping with the tenor of the times by the 1930s. Eventually the Brown home shrank to a more middle-class suburban semi-detached house.

The large domestic staff of cook, housemaid, and gardener during the 1920s were replaced by a daily. Somehow the plot lines just are not as effective when William is a rich kid with a large staff to look after (perhaps better "out") for him. Some of the best story lines are in fact when William wins out over the spoiled rich kids. There are other changes as well. The War takes its toll. With sugar rationing Monster Humbug sweets become more expensive and decline in suckability. Then television entrudes in the quiet village life of pre-war England. Soon television begins to replace the vicarage tea parties. Some things, however, do not change. Violet Elizabeth Bott becomes no less obnoxious. Of course the major constant through the years is that William keeps his chracteristic clothes, especially the askew cap and fallen kneesocks. British schoolwear of course during the long publushing run of the books has changed significantly. William and Television William was not impressed with early British television. We believe that he would have very much approved of modern television as he developed, although he would not approved of the limited number of channels available to British kids. A reade writes, "I beg to differ.

In a William book that I think was published in 1938 when British TV was just starting, William's seeing television appears in one of the stories. I recollect his describing television as 'two heads talking in a hole', and his general attitude towards this new phenomenon was, to the best of my recollection, distinctly derogatory. As far as I know, Britain started TV broadcasts before Word War II, and suspended for the duration so that the germans would not be able to 'home in' on the TV signals as broadcast." [Reiss] Well HBC's think you are correct. But remember what William saw was very early English. Not only were early TV screens very small, but the picture quality was not good. Not was there very much interesting programming. Our point is that William was a typical English boy and I can tell you that English boys like most other children like television. Figure 4.--The British television productions have made a real effort to accurately produce the costuming portrayed by Henry Thomas in his illustrations. Crompton fror her part rarely mentioned what William wore, note the angle of the cap and the crumpled kneesocks with patterned turn-over-tops.

Oliver Rokison played William in the 1994/95 BBC television adaptation with great pleasure. production. Changing Views William has passed out of style in Modern Britain. To put it mildly, William is not exactly PC. William is the quintessential middle-class British boy, just as Billy Bunter represents the upper-class schoolboy role. William represents the genteel English home-counties, conservative, ideal world that perhaps never was. Much like Norman Rockwell's portrayals of America. William's xenephobia and sexism is perhaps not the perfect role model for 1990s Britons. Yet there is something about William that cannot be easily dismissed. The same kind of criticisms are leveled at Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. William's sexist dismisal of girls in general and Violet Elizabeth Bott in particular does not mean the author agrees. (The author in fact is a lady.) It means that William and boys then and now do think that way about girls. William also in a very real way preserves a slice of Britain that, if it did not precisely exist, did exist in the minds of many Britons. And it did preserve a beautiful glimpse of how a generation of British boys really did dress.

Penrod Our hero William in fact had an American counterpart. While his name is destinctive--Penrod like William symbolizes the boy's view of life in their respective countries. Always struggling to control events beyond their abilities. Always mistified by the views and values of adults--but steadfastingly adhering to the values of boyhood which cut accross cultures. In fact, the experiences of Penrod and William are remarkably similar. The only difference is that Penrod would not be caught dead in a pair of short pants. Dennis the Menace There was another American counterpart. HBC could not help but notice certain similarities between Our William and America's Dennis the Menace. They both symbolize the average boy. William in the 1920s-30s amd Dennis in the 1950s althohough he is still going strng today in new hands. Both had hard-pressed parents,. Dennis had Joey as a best pal and William had the Outlaws. The gratest nemesis that both faced was of coutse the fairer gender--Margatet and Violet Elizabeth Bott. Recollections Several British readers have written to HBC remembering the "Just William books and films.

"I remember I had one of those 'snake' belts. Also I dressed in a very similar way to William, (Cap an' all). I wouldn't go anywhere without it." -- Sean "I read all the Just William books when I was a boy and have probably seen most of the films and TV series." -- Malcolm Just William's women: Be nice to them - or they'll scream and scream till they're sick! | Daily Mail Online Just William's women: Be nice to them - or they'll scream and scream till they're sick! comments Straight to the point: William Brown has many enemies in life - with GIRLS being the biggest one! There are many enemies in the life of William Brown – even though he’s only 11. They include angry farmers, Nazis, uncles, an elder brother, criminal masterminds and scornful teachers, to name but a few. Yet none are so detested by the fictional tearaway schoolboy as GIRLS. As William puts it in a new television series that starts next week: ‘We’re not interested in girls . . . they can be really annoying.

My sister trod on my Spitfire model and all I’d done is jump on her bed until it nearly broke.’ It is curious, then, that his daily life is shaped by the creatures he most despises, and stranger still that William is entirely the creation of a childless spinster, Richmal Crompton. Here, The Mail on Sunday introduces William’s women. We interview the actors behind three of the extraordinary characters featured in the BBC’s four-part series: his glamorous sister Ethel, tomboy Dorinda and, of course, arch enemy Violet Elizabeth Bott. And, speaking for the first time about her aunt, Crompton’s niece Kate Massey recalls a woman of sharp observation and limitless vitality – the qualities that created the nation’s favourite young scruff. PERFECT PART FOR THE KARATE TOMBOY Larks: Lottie Bell as Dorinda is OK by Williams as she likes rats, dogs and frogs... but not dresses One girl in William’s life, Dorinda Lane, proves slightly more acceptable.

That’s because she is a tomboy, who plays with rats, dogs and frogs – attractions that, along with her beauty, melt William’s hard heart, and even lead to a disastrous attempt at romance in a school play. Dorinda is played by 11-year-old Lottie Bell, daughter of former Olympic skier and TV presenter Graham Bell and his wife Sarah. Lottie landed the role of Dorinda after being spotted by a casting director at the Acorn Music Theatre Company in Henley, Oxfordshire, where she does drama classes after school on Mondays. She says the role is made for her: she is a Scout, not a Guide, was the first girl in her Cub pack and enjoys skiing and karate, rather than dancing and dressing up. ‘I was really excited when I heard on the phone I’d got the part,’ she says. ‘I was running around the house screaming. I practised the role with my dad.’ However, Lottie says he was not as good a William as Daniel Roche, the curly-haired child from BBC sitcom Outnumbered who plays the tearaway in the new series. Lottie adds: ‘We filmed for four days in Chorleywood.

I had to wear brown worn-out dungarees, which the make-up artist had splattered with mud. ‘My favourite scene was probably the first scene when I had a rat in a bucket. It was a pet rat and its tail was really amazing. ‘I had to try and face the rat to the camera, so I put a piece of cheese by its nose to make it look at the camera. ‘We then filmed the dog trying to catch the rat, which had run into a coal scuttle. I was allowed to choose a dog for the part so I picked a white scruffy one. ‘But we couldn’t film the dog and the rat at the same time so I put a piece of cheese on the end of a stick, which kept the dog sniffing at the scuttle. It was awesome. ‘In another scene, I had a frog in a jar. I had to put my hand over the top because there wasn’t a lid, and the frog kept jumping up into my hand. It was really slimy. ‘The only bit I didn’t like was going to see William in the school play because I had to wear a dress.

I think Dorinda is quite like me.’ ETHEL WOULD NEVER GET AWAY WITH IT TODAY Launch pad: Lily James hopes her performance as William's older sister Ethel will lead to more starring roles Ethel is William’s older sister – and a never-ending source of irritation. She holds her brother in lofty disdain as she calmly plays off her hapless suitors against each another. In episode two, rival admirers each bring Ethel a parrot – but William kidnaps them. Ethel is played by 21-year-old newcomer Lily James, who has just left drama school. ‘James’ is her stage name – a tribute to her late father, former actor and businessman Jamie Thomson, who died of cancer in 2000. After studying at the Arts Educational School in Tring, Hertfordshire, Lily won a place at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She was signed by an agent in her third year and landed the role of Ethel, even though she missed the first audition. She said: ‘I thought I had missed out on my chance to play Ethel because I couldn’t go to the first Just William audition.

But then another audition came along and I said, “I have to do this.” ‘I went along and got the part and started filming a week after leaving college. ‘I can’t explain how excited I was. I didn’t have the opportunity to get filthy, but I did get the chance to wear a lot of incredible red lipstick and have very curly, gorgeous hair. I loved playing Ethel because she allowed me to relive my girlie childhood, when everything was exciting, beautiful and pretty. But I don’t think I would get away with her behaviour nowadays. ‘She manages to somehow break two boys’ hearts and flounce off into bigger and better things. I hope that I’ve never done that to anyone.’ Lily hopes Just William will be a launch pad to greater things – though she has already appeared in Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, with Billie Piper, and is rehearsing for the play Vernon God Little at the Young Vic.

VIOLET ELIZABETH IS VERY ANNOYING - BUT I'M NOT Nemesis: William's spoilt neighbour is the originator of the chilling threat to 'scream and scream till I'm sick' William’s lisping nemesis is six-year-old Violet Elizabeth Bott, his spoilt neighbour and originator of the chilling threat to ‘scream and scream till I’m sick’. Despite her ringlets, ribbons in her hair and little Bo Peep dresses, Violet Elizabeth, who is five years younger than William, twists him around her little finger, even making him pretend to be a fairy by threatening to cry. She eventually tags along with William’s gang the Outlaws and ends up in a bog. Eight-year-old Isabella Blake-Thomas landed the role after being spotted on the children’s channel CBeebies, and is following in the footsteps of Bonnie Langford, who played the part in ITV’s 1976 adaption of the stories. She is the only daughter of former actress Lizzie Blake-Thomas, 32, who runs a theatrical company, and her businessman husband Charlie, 34.

She got her first break when she was asked to work as a presenter on the children’s nature show Green Balloon Club. She heard about auditions for Just William when she was on holiday. ‘We were going on a skiing holiday when my mummy got a call for this audition,’ she says. ‘There were about 800 being auditioned and I got a recall. ‘I really love acting. I play with my dollies in my bedroom and make my own little films on a little video recorder. That’s probably why I became an actress because I like acting in front of my video camera. ‘Being in Just William was really, really great. My favourite scene was the bog scene. It was so cold but I enjoyed filming it. It was so funny. I was covered in fake mud. My pillow was dirty for days and I had mud in my ears and nails.’ However, Isabella insists she is nothing like Violet Elizabeth. ‘I loved dressing up like her,’ she says. ‘Her dresses were so big I had to go through doors sideways. ‘But I’m not really like her.

Violet Elizabeth is very nagging and annoying and I’m not.’ RICHMAL: THE AUNT WHO PLAYED COWBOYS AND INDIANS It has often been asked how Richmal Crompton, an unmarried classics teacher from the Lancashire mill town of Bury, could have so completely captured the world of an 11-year-old boy. But to those who knew her, such as her great-niece Kate Massey, the answer is clear enough: she worked with children all her life and she had a younger brother, Jack, on whom William is clearly based. Inspiration: Author Richmal Crompton, left, completely captured the world of an 11-year-old boy - according to her niece Kate Massey basing the character on her younger brother Jack ‘I saw a lot of her as a child,’ recalls Kate, co-president of the Just William Society. ‘We used to spend a lot of time at her house in Chislehurst and she used to come to all our school plays and fetes. She had a bay window, with a curtain which drew straight across it, where we would perform plays for her. She was very hands-on.

We would go and play cowboys and indians or Custer’s Last Stand on the edge of Chiselhurst Woods, and she would stand there with her walking frame, playing Custer.’ The author died aged 78 in 1969. Kate was only 12, but remembers her well, and fondly. Richmal had dedicated the 1958 novel William’s Television Show to her. ‘She loved children and was on the same level as them. I think she just understood people whatever their age,’ she says. ‘She always had a twinkle in her eye, even after she became ill and got a walking frame. She was one of those people who had life inside them. She didn’t just exist, she had a rarity of light. She was a very special person. ‘I last saw her a couple of nights before she died. She was at dinner at our house. I went into the kitchen where she was washing up and found her picking herself up off the floor. She told me not to tell anyone so I didn’t – but I have regretted it ever since.’ Just William begins on BBC1 on December 28 at 12.30pm.

Just William vs Violet Elizabeth Bott Ingrid's Obituary Just William vs Violet Elizabeth Bott Deliciously non-PC, the only one who could defeat William Brown was Violet Elizabeth Bott who claimed excellence in the Projectile Vomit department as her Weapon of Mass Destruction. William and his best mate Ginger. When Johnny Garrett was bidding his executioners farewell in 1991 he gave an Oscar award winner’s speech. He had been sentenced to death for the murder of a nun. When he was asked if he had any final words he allegedly said: “I’d like to thank my family for looking after me and taking care of me. And the rest of the world can kiss my arse.” Terse, sweet, to the point and just about summed up how he felt. Another murderer, debonair ex-RAF pilot, Neville Heath, facing the hangman, Albert Pierrepoint, was asked if he would like a whiskey. “Considering the circumstances,” he quipped. “You had better make it a double.” King George V also had a nice line in departee.

Told by his doctors that he would soon be up and about and able to take the air at his beloved Bognor Regis he is reported to have gasped out before expiring. “Bugger Bognor.” Has a nice ring to it. The mild expletive was also a part of Prime Minister Winston S Churchill’s favourite exhortation. When things were not going to plan he would urge his staff to “keep buggering on.” It obviously worked a treat. Charles Dickens gave his fictional character, Sidney Carton, a rather pompous parting bon mot to accompany him up the steps to the guillotine in A Tale of Two Cities. “It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done, it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever had”. Seems that the prospect of imminent death can produce a sense of literary timing in those about to go. King of the Undead, Dracula, polite as ever when he didn’t actually have his incisors buried in somebody’s jugular, when asked if he would like a drink replied “I never drink - wine”. But you don’t have to be contemplating the hereafter to coin a memorable sentence.

Take Friedrich Nietzsche the 19th Century German philosopher. “Whoever fights Monsters should see to it that in the process he doesn’t become a monster. When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.” An apt metaphor for the present international situation I would think. Then there is lisping Violet Elizabeth Bott. When things weren’t going her way she let those around her, particularly William Brown, know the consequences of non-compliance with her wishes. “I‘ll thcream and I’ll thcream ‘til I’m thick. I can you know”. And it always worked. That's Just William Richmal Crompton’s Just William books have been around since 1922. Not natural reading fodder in my childhood. It took actor John Bentley of Crossroads fame to introduce me to the little rascal. John, although looking everyones image of a dashing hero and was called ‘Safari Ned’ by comedian Harry Secombe because he looked so good in a Safari jacket, was a boy at heart. I met him when I was touring with a play called Woman of Straw. His dressing room was amazing. Every venue he opened up a huge packing case and decorated the entire room with Teddy Bears.

The days can be long and boring waiting for the curtain to go up in the evening. We were at Cleethorpes and John suggested a raid on the shops. I was up for it but was a little disappointed when I found myself trudging around Junk Shops. Amongst the jumble he found a battered book entitled William the Outlaw. He insisted on buying it for me and then persisted in asking every day if I had read it. Just to shut him up I decided to read it. And found it highly amusing. Richmal Crompton was a prolific writer, not only of children’s books but also for adults. Her 40 William books were matched by around the same number of adult books with other childrens’ books thrown in. Featured were ‘Jimmy’, for younger children, and ‘Patricia’ for girls. 12,000,000 books sold in the UK alone puts Miss Crompton well in there with the likes of JK Rowling, Beatrix Potter and Enid Blyton. Who says children’s books don’t sell? Well, my agent for one. The book that started it all. The perennially eleven year old William is what would now be categorised as a hyperactive child.

Probably with some sort of schizoid element thrown in for good measure. The product of a well-off middle class family in the Roaring Twenties he enjoys baiting his elder sister, Ethel, and does his best to make the life of any boy friend she might bring home, a misery. His father, a banker and would-be stern disciplinarian, is completely at sea where his younger son is concerned. Only William’s elder brother, Robert, a pompous would-be man-about-town, has any influence over him and this is mainly because he is always good for the odd ‘tanner’ or ‘joey’. (Sixpenny and three penny pieces.) His mother dotes on her wayward son but even she gets a little weary of having to act as back stop for him at times. His gang of like minded scoundrels, Ginger, Henry and Douglas meet in a cow-shed owned by a local farmer who is considered the great enemy. Spoiling their fun by wanting to join them is the daughter of the owner of the local Bott’s Digestive Sauce factory, Violet Elizabeth Bott. She is a mega sized pain but able to foil William’s attempts to dislodge her by threatening to vomit.

An unusual weapon but very useful where William is concerned. William is absolutely positive that the sauce made in Violet Elizabeth’s father’s factory is made from crushed beetles and never misses an opportunity of spouting his conviction if he can find a receptive ear. In spite of the never ending trouble he finds himself in, William is a well-intentioned boy and most of his problems arise from his efforts to right a wrong. This is reflected in the titles of some of the William books. William the Good, (1928) Sweet William (1936), William Does His Bit (a war efforts saga from 1942), William the Bold (1950) and William the Explorer (1960). Other titles show his other side. William the Outlaw (1927), William the Rebel (1933), William the Lawless (1970). The last book published posthumously. The author died in 1969. Most of these books in the hardback edition are still available and can cost anything from £25 - £300-400.

Even a 1st edition William the Superman with illustrations by Henry Ford Green, not published until 1968, can fetch a couple of hundred quid. Not unexpectedly a 1st edition of the original Just William approaching anything like mint condition can get the Reichter Scale quaking. All of the Just William booka were originally published by Newnes. Soft back edition were usually handled by MacMillan. The very first time that William Brown was conjured into life was in a story called Rice Mould written for Home Magazine in 1919. Richmal Crompton also wrote for Happy Magazine where she kept her favourite leading boy alive. A 1926 first edition of the magazine with a William cover can be picked up for around £80. The character of the errant but well meaning schoolboy was sympathetically received and two years later Newnes published the first William story in book form Just William. This was to be the generic name for all the William books to come. Richmal Compton admitted to having many of the characteristics of her schoolboy hero. The first attempt to exploit Just William on the silver screen happened in the year which saw the start of WW2, 1939.

Dicky Lupino, cousin of Ida Lupino, and an American to boot, was William and another American, Roddy MacDowall was Ginger. The only leading member of the cast to suggest that the movie might be British was the marvelously louche Fred Emney. Radio beckoned in 1945 and the BBC ran a 35 episode series which was finally scuttled in 1956. As a healthy reminder that William was British to the core and not to be confused with the American product, Tom Sawyer, Just William’s Luck, in 1948, had Gary Marsh, as Mr. Brown, and A.E Matthews in the cast. And you don’t get more Brit than that. William Graham was William and Audrey Manning turned in a gut wrenching performance as Violet Elizabeth. William Graham was again up for our hero the following year in William Goes to the Circus. The title alone conjures up some wild images. Marsh was back as Papa Brown and Jon Pertwee turned in a great performance as the police Superintendent giving William a hard time.

William got his big break on the telly in 1960 when the BBC decided that Saturday evening could be perked up with the insouciant adventures of an 11 year old boy. They ran a six episode season with Dennis Waterman as William. Waterman went on to star in The Sweeney, Minder and many other top rating TV shows. Ten years later London Weekend picked up a contract to air 13 episodes on Sunday evening with Adrian Dunnatt in the lead, still pestered by Violet Elizabeth, this time in the diminutive form of Bonnie Langford. TV virtually spurned William Brown for the next 20 years until the Beeb decided to have another bash at it in 1990 with Oliver Rokison wielding the catapult and Tiffany Griffith threatening the projectile vomit. With the appearance of the Audio Book there was a stirring of a new life. Notably read by the outrageous Kenneth Williams and latterly by Martin Jarvis, the rebel Peter Pan is finding a new audience. Probably not with the younger family members too busy with their latest Play Station to care about what a real childhood was like, at least in the Brown household, before living became a virtual reality.

William’s antics were not always looked on with favour. Catapults, bows and arrows, ten inch Boy Scout knives, to be worn on all occasions, and energetic, no-holds-barred conker bouts might be frowned on, if not illegal, now but, in the twenties and thirties, were an everyday part of a healthy boy’s outdoor life. Richmal Crompton was at times chastised for going a bit too far and had at least two books withdrawn. If you have one of these in the attic you will find you have reached the end of your own, personal Rainbow. Williams sins? Well at one time he painted his dog blue and charged other kids to have a look at it claiming in was a wild dog never seen before. Another time he had a bet with his mates about how many rats his dog could kill in a certain time. But he really got it in the neck when he and his chums harassed a Jewish shopkeeper. Mr. Isaacs, for being a cheat and giving short measure when he weighed up the humbugs. This was a story, William and the Nasties (read Nazis,) in William the Detective which survived through the ‘thirties but was excised from later editions.

Violet knew exactly how to get William's undivided attention. Commercial exploitation of book or film characters didn’t really get going until the ‘60s. That being the case it wouldn’t be surprising to find there were very few William collectables around. The surprise is that they are many and various. First traceable items date from the early 1940s. Among other intriguing items there is a Toy Theatre with a script and a cast of cardboard characters to act it out. (Who said that?) The last one that was sold, in 1982 as far as I can gather, went for the reasonable sum of £25. Times have changed and money softened so at a guess if there is one hiding out somewhere it could easily command a three figure price. There is also a real, live stage play in three acts called Just William by Macdonald and Young. A script can be picked up for as little as £15. Unfortunately it had a problem finding an audience when it was first staged. The war over and a new sense of awareness produced an increase in the sales potential of the William franchise. There was a 3D board game entitled, what else, The Just William Board Game.

Again not something that changes hands often but I am reliably informed it would have the collectors drooling. A number of jigsaw puzzles based on TV series were a very popular addition to any 11 year old’s Christmas stocking. Without the usual piece missing could go for £25 or so. Earlier examples of Williams fame are a series of figurines. One as William the Gangster with a Tommy Gun toted under his arm has an asking price of £120. The other three more nondescript pieces are models by Coalport. Very unpopular were a number of ‘dressing up’ books where the reader was invited to dress William, Ginger and Violet Elizabeth. Too sissy for the born again William worshippers. Even at the beach it was hard to avoid William. A very fetching bucket and spade were on sale in every souvenir shop. There was an early attempt to launch a Just William Fan Club which for some reason seems not have survived. Later the Outlaws Club offered a very interesting starters bundle but that also seems to have gone beyond recall. But don’t despair.

In 1995 the Just William Society was spawned and you can attend meetings or keep up with Williams exploits on info@justwilliamsociety.co.uk If you are not an addicted William watcher perhaps now is the time to suck it and see. There does seem to be a gathering interest in the rogue from another age - if the writers can just get around the fact that William has a non-PC streak running through him like a stick of rock and anyone wanting to recycle him would re unwise to try and remove. In the meanwhile I guess we will just have to settle for the boxed set including Just William, More William, William Again, and William the Fourth, that has just been put on the market by MacMillan’s Children’s Books. It reached the shops for Christmas ‘05 but the local book shop said they had to reorder for ‘06 and the pick-up has been interesting. It retails around the twenty pound mark. It would seem a great time to search around in the junk and jumble for discarded William ephemera. You never know what goodies you might come up.

Model Mart January 2007 Just William 3 Audiobook | Richmal Crompton | Audible.com "Martin Jarvis was Born for this!" Would you listen to Just William 3 again? Why? Some stories you can enjoy as much or more in written form as in an audio version. The Just William stories as told by Martin Jarvis are so much better in audio. Not to take away anything from Richmal Crompton the author since she created William and his world and provided Martin Jarvis with the perfect vehicle to display the wide variety of characters he can portray. He infuses the characters in these stories with so much life and humor, that nothing else compares. I've read some of the stories in print and watched a movie version of Just William on DVD and Martin Jarvis still takes first place as the best and funniest way to enjoy Just William. illustrators ILLUSTRATORS PAGE Obviously the two main illustrators of the William books were Thomas Henry and Henry Ford, although there were of course many others. Thomas Henry was born Thomas Henry Fisher at Eastwood during 1879. The family moved to Nottingham shortly afterward.

He attended Nottingham College of Art.When he was 15 whilst still a student, Fisher began to work for the Nottingham Guardian. His career began when he sent a sketch of his brother to England's illustrious Punch satirical magazine. The editor Sir Frederick Burnand sent back an encouraging letter. His first paid work was an illustration for a turn of the century comic called the Ally Sloper. He received 7s 6d and soon his illustrations were a regular feature of Punch and other important English magazines. His work received considerable critical acclaim. The Royal Academy hung one of his pictures and he also exhibited at many galleries including Nottingham Castle. Many older English football fans fondly remember the cartoons that used to enliven the Football Post until the late 1960s. They were drawn by Thomas Henry . He created the memorable Forester, Magpie, Stag, Chesterfield's Spireite, Lincoln's Imp and the Derby Ram. The Football Post was at the time perhaps the most popular sports publication in England and his cartoons were a wonderful addition and greatly enjoyed by readers. Richmal Crompton's Just William books were profusely and beautifully illustrated by him,and they are usually signed Thomas Henry.

Although he compiled a considerable body of work, his career is inextricably linked today with William . Becaue of his growing reputation, the publisher Newnes selected him to depict Richmal's creation -William Brown. His drawings were a perfect compliment to Crompton's text. He had a perfect grasp of the William's character and foibles. William, as illustrated by Thomas Henry was everyone's idea of a mischievous schoolboy with his grubby knees, unruly hair, and perpetual cheeky grin He succeeded in creating the perfect visual image drawn by Richmal in her books. His depictions of William's outlaw's - Ginger, Douglas Henry as well as him nemesis--Violet Elizabeth Bott--are also wonderfully done. Other illustrators have done William, but it is Thomas Henry's drawings that come to mind when when most people nostalgically think of William Brown. While he is best know for his William drawings, he also illustrated many other children's books as well as seaside postcards (not the saucy variety!!) He also produced an unknown number of William postcards . I have recently come across a birthday card with a Thomas Henry illustration.

Obviously as a Newnes employee, he worked on many of their books which had a similar 'feel' as the William books. Most notably Evadne Price's book 'Enter Jane' and Florence Kilpatrick's book 'Our Elizabeth'. Both these have the same format as the very early William books with the lovely pictures on the spine, and needless to say, with them being Thomas Henry illustrations, look superb!! It is worth noting that in the case of the Jane book, although the illustrations are most definitely Thomas Henry, they are not signed so, but are in fact signed Wooley. This may have been to placate Evadne Price, who did not take kindly to being referred to as the author of the 'female William'.as if she was copying Richmal Crompton.In fact she went on record as saying she"had never heard of William". However this is pretty unlikely, seeing as adverts for William books are on the dust wrappers of her own books!! Thomas Henry is also credited with doing some work on the famous Player Cigarettes Sailor. Henry Ford I know nothing about !!!! All I know is, that he illustrated the front cover of William and the Witch. (Thomas Henry illustrated the inside) and the subsequent last four books.

There is speculation that Newnes just used other illustrators in their employ, to carry on in the William vein, and that the name Henry Ford was just made up. His name doesn't appear to crop up anywhere else. However as I said this is just speculation and hopfully YOU may know different! If so, please get in touch and I will be happy to put the record straight. Othere illustrators who drew William, I have come across are Arthur Ransom, Honor C. Appleton and Tony Ross but of course there are lots more.

Question: Who created the literary character Violet Elizabeth Bott?
Answer: Richmal Crompton